Teach Yourself Complete Nepali - 2 Audio CDs and Book
Brand New (still shrink wrapped) 2 CDs and Book
*learn how to speak, understand and write Nepali
*progress quickly beyond the basics
*explore the language in depth
This book/CD pack is a complete course in understanding, speaking and writing Nepali, the lingua franca of the central and eastern Himalaya, and the national language of Nepal. If you are a beginner, or if your Nepali just needs brushing up, this course will progress quickly beyond the basics to a level where you can communicate with confidence. The course has proved effective as teaching material for both class tuition and individual study.
The Nepali presented in the course is primarily colloquial and practical. The course is divided into 24 units, each of which is based on dialogues which exemplify and bring to life the new grammar introduced in that particular unit. Transliteration in the roman script is provided for the first four units and for all words in the English-Nepali glossary.
The grammatical explanations are intended to be as accessible and non-technical as possible. The main grammatical structures of Nepali are all presented. There are plenty of exercises for you to practise every new point and a key at the back so that you can check your answers.
The book is accompanied by 2 CDs containing approximately 2 hours of listening material.
Comprehensive - all you need to know for a business trip or holiday. Culture notes - to help you get the most out of a visit and feel confident. Grammar explanations - the clear explanations will help you to understand the grammar, even if you have never learned a language before. Recorded material - the recordings will give you a model to help you to get your pronunciation right from the start and to understand what is being said to you. Script - lots of practice to help you to master Nepali script.
Table of Contents:
 Introduction
The Nepali script and sound system
Are you Bindi?
How far is it to Kathmandu?
How many?
Whose is it?
What do you do?
Give me 25 rupees
The best
I came yesterday
I'll go when I've eaten
In the market
It seems fine to me
Where has he gone?
Dear Raju
If it rains...
I'll go next year
What should I do?
You're not allowed in
I can learn Nepali
At the doctor's
The map of Nepal
I used to smoke
Shall I make tea?
If he'd taken the medicine...
If that's how it is...
Appendices: cardinal numbers; kinship terms
Key to the exercises
Nepali-English glossary
English-Nepali glossary
About the Author(s):
Michael Hutt studied for a BA in South Asian Studies at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) in London from 1976 to 1980, and then for a PhD in Nepali, which was awarded in 1984. Since 1990 he has taught Nepali and Himalayan Studies at SOAS and has published a range of books and articles on Nepali language, literature, art and archirecture, politics and history. His most recent work deals with the problem faced by Nepali-speaking Bhutanese refugees.
Abhi Subedi has an M.A.in literature and Ph.D. in literary theory. He did postgraduate language studies at Edinburgh University. He is currently Professor of English at Kirtipur, Tribhuvan University. He is a Nepali writer, critic, poet and playwright and has had over a dozen books published.
About the Language
Nepali is an Indo-Aryan language spoken in Nepal, Bhutan, and some parts of India and Myanmar (Burma).
It is the lingua-franca of Nepal and also one of 23 Official languages of India incorporated in 8th annex of the Indian Constitution. It is a lingua-franca of the state of Sikkim and has official language status in West Bengal's Darjeeling district. Similarly it is spoken in State of Uttaranchal as well as in the state of Assam. Roughly half of the population of Nepal speaks Nepali as a mother tongue. Beside this some casr and religions use their own language as their first language. However, the official language of Nepal is Nepali.
Nepali goes by various names. It was also called Gorkhali or Gurkhali, "the language of the Gurkhas," and Parbatiya, "the language of the mountains." Khaskura is the oldest term, literally speech of the Khas, who were peasants in the Karnali-Bheri basin of far western Nepal since prehistoric or early historic times. Khaskura exists in opposition to Khamkura, a group of Tibeto-Burman dialects spoken by Kham peoples in the highlands separating the Karnali-Bheri basin from the Gandaki basin in central Nepal.
Nepali is the easternmost of the Pahari languages, a group of related languages spoken across the lower elevations of the Himalaya range, from eastern Nepal through the Indian states of Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh. The influence of the Nepali language can also be seen in Bhutan and some parts of Burma. Nepali developed in proximity to a number of Tibeto-Burman languages, most notably Nepal Bhasa, and shows Tibeto-Burman influences.
Nepali is closely related to Hindi but is more conservative, borrowing fewer words from Persian and English and using more Sanskritic derivations. Today, Nepali is commonly written in the Devanagari script. There is some record of using Takri script in the history of Nepali, especially in western Nepal, Utarakhand, and Himanchal. Bhujimol is an older script native to Nepal. Nepali is mutually intelligible with Hindi and Urdu speakers.
Nepali developed a great literature within a short period of hundred years in the nineteenth century, fueled by Adhyatma Ramayana; Sundarananda Bara (1833); Birsikka, an anonymous collection of folk-tales; and a Ramayana by Bhanubhakta. The contribution of trio-lauretes Poudyal, Devkota, and Sama took Nepali to the level of other world languages. The contribution of laureates outside Nepal, especially from Darjeeling and Varanasi, is also worth noting.
The sole use of Nepali in the courts and government of Nepal is being challenged. The issue of recognition of other ethnic languages in Nepal was one of the talking points raised by the Maoist insurgency. A Cabinet Minister, Matrika Yadav, recently took a ministerial oath in the Maithili language, rather than Nepali.
Teach Youself Complete Nepali - Book and 2 Audio CD's
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